http://www.asuwebdevil.com/issues/2006/ ... ons/697763

Opinions: Illegal immigrants have no right to in-state tuition
by T.J. Shope
published on Wednesday, September 20, 2006

In November, those new to Arizona will see firsthand how seriously Arizona citizens take our role in government by the amount of ballot measures that the people will be voting on.

Measures will be on the ballot as the result of thousands of signatures being gathered while a few more will be there because of a Legislative referral.

Among all the proposals, Proposition 300 is important to students because it has a direct impact on our education system here at Arizona State University as well as the other state universities and county community colleges in Arizona.

This single measure will ban in-state tuition for illegal immigrants who claim "residency" in the Arizona and it will also ban any other type of fee waivers that illegal immigrants can attempt to claim in other education areas.

Those of you who've followed Arizona politics may remember the 2004 election year's Proposition 200 that was supposed to have banned all nonfederally mandated state benefits for illegal immigrants. Even though a vast majority of Arizona voters passed Proposition 200 just two years ago, Attorney General Terry Goddard never instituted many of its components because of a narrow interpretation of the new law.
Arizona's Legislature later passed HB2030 to close the loopholes that Goddard used to narrowly interpret Proposition 200, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Napolitano.

For this reason, Arizonans are being asked by their Republican-led Legislature to approve Proposition 300, which will expand the scope of Proposition 200.

The point of this proposition is simple: illegal immigrants should not receive benefits that U.S. citizens cannot receive. Currently, Illegal immigrants can claim to be a "resident" of Arizona and therefore pay the in-state tuition rate while a U.S. citizen of another state is forced to pay out-of-state tuition. How can a person whose very presence in our country is illegal be afforded a benefit that U.S. citizens are not afforded?

That, my friends, is the question at hand. As college students, it should be on all of our minds when thinking about Proposition 300.

Proposition 300 should be given a "yes" vote because it's time for Arizonans to once again rise up with one voice and demand that our leaders take notice that we are serious when it comes to taking a tough stand on illegal immigration.

According to a poll taken by ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism on Aug. 29, Arizonans are ready to do just that and support this measure by a wide margin.

Why should the overburdened taxpayers of our great state be forced to subsidize the education of illegal immigrants?

That will have to be the other question on the mind of Arizona voters come November. The voters of this state have spoken time and again of being tired of the problems associated with illegal immigration. There is no question that the voters of our great state will side with law and order once again by passing Proposition 300.

J.J. Shope is a political science Junior and President of the College Republicans at Arizona State University. He can be reached at Thomas.Shope@asu.edu.